The International Trade Commission said Motorola was infringing on one smartphone patent Microsoft was suing it for but the preliminary decision didn’t find violations in six other patents Microsoft had issue with.
The patent in question involved syncing of calendars across devices and the ruling may give Microsoft more leverage in signing a licensing agreement. Nearly every major Android maker has signed a patent agreement with Microsoft but Motorola has held off so far.
“We are pleased with the ITC’s initial determination finding Motorola violated four claims of a Microsoft patent,” Microsoft said in a prepared statement. “As Samsung, HTC, Acer and other companies have recognized, respecting others’ intellectual property through licensing is the right path forward.”
You have to wonder what this decision means for Google, which is trying to buy Motorola because its patents could protect Android from legal battles like this one. On the bright side for Motorola, Microsoft originally claimed nine patents were being infringed, trimmed that to seven and it turns out only one was infringing. That means it likely won’t be able to get as much money as it would have if more patents were found to be infringing.
[Via Mobile Burn, photo via ShutterStock, Andrey Burmakin]